Distribution and Logistics Management

Discover how to improve distribution and logistics management activities, reduce costs, save time, increase customer satisfaction, and better meet your company's objectives. This course will show you how to achieve success through a combination of distribution and logistics strategies and tactics.

6 Weeks / 24 Course Hrs

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Learning method

Self-Guided

$190

No instructor. Study on your own schedule

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Instructor-Moderated

$175

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Starting March 12 | April 16

Details + Objectives

Course code: dlm

Distribution and logistics management is a critical company function. Professionals in this field play a key role in fulfilling customer demands, ordering and managing inventory, controlling inbound and outbound shipments, reducing costs, saving time, and meeting company objectives. This course will not only show you how to create and operate a logistics function, but it will also show you how to achieve success through a combination of strategies and tactics.

All elements of distribution and logistics management will be covered, including physical distribution, warehouse selection, material handling, packaging, order fulfillment, customer service, inventory management, receiving, production stores, and returned goods. The course will also address key technology issues such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), bar coding, electronic data interchange (EDI), electronic commerce (e-commerce), and distribution resource planning (DRP).

What you will learn

Learn how to create and operate a logistics function
Understand key technology issues such as enterprise resource planning (ERP), bar coding, electronic data interchange (EDI), electronic commerce (e-commerce), and distribution resource planning (DRP)
Understand the order fulfillment cycle and how it can benefit your organization
Obtain a few strategies to bring lost shipments in on time
Find out how to set and manage an inventory budget

How you will benefit

Develop skills to perform a critical company function
Become more confident in your ability to perform well in a new role with strategies and tactics for success
Open the door to new opportunities at various organizations

How the course is taught

Instructor-Moderated or Self-Guided online course
6 Weeks or 3 Months access
24 course hours

Outline

Your success in the logistics field depends on planning and facilitating movement of the right things, at the right time, at the right place, and at the right cost. The first lesson will discuss the nature of logistics, review its history, and examine how it's currently used. You'll learn about the importance of logistics and discover the role of supply chain management.

In this lesson you'll start with a whirlwind tour through the various elements of a logistics system, examining how each element contributes to its overall success. Then you'll look more closely at two of the major elements: warehousing choices and physical distribution. The lesson will talk about planning, setting up, and operating a warehouse. You'll explore the scope and function of physical distribution and finally study carrier transportation modes and methods.

This lesson will broaden your horizons regarding material handling, packaging, order entry, and customer service (order fulfillment). You'll learn about the different material handling options and discover several dimensions of packaging. You'll also see how the order fulfillment cycle can benefit your organization and determine how to calculate the order fill and line item fill methods.

Receiving starts the ball rolling for logistics activities. After all, you can't do much until you receive raw materials, equipment, and supplies. This lesson will discuss receiving, production stores, and ways to address inbound delivery problems. You'll learn the specific steps of the receiving function, and see that there are two types of production stores arrangements—the closed and open system. You'll also discover different ways to store materials and find out the difference between expediting and tracing. Finally, you'll obtain a few strategies to bring lost shipments in on time.

As a logistics practitioner, you're responsible for controlling inventories. To help you do this effectively, this lesson will cover two key techniques: the ABC classification and the economic order quantity (EOQ) formula. ABC helps you classify inventories based on their characteristics. The EOQ formula balances the cost of obtaining with the cost of keeping inventory. You'll also find out how to set and manage an inventory budget so you come in at or under budget.

Logistics systems move products, material, and equipment in and out of organizations, so it's important to maintain documentation that reflects the pattern of movement and also designates ownership. Doing so will allow you to effectively manage customer returns, and you'll learn how to do that in this lesson. The lesson will also talk about the customer return process and basic transportation documents, including the bill of lading and the freight bill.

Once upon a time, people had to take, fill, ship, and bill orders without the use of computer technology, but today, it's hard to remember a time when computers weren't used in logistics. This lesson will begin with an overview of how computers and technology are used and will also address specific forms of information technology, including electronic data interchange (EDI), electronic commerce (e-commerce), bar coding, and enterprise resource planning (ERP).

The regulatory reform that took place in the logistics field during the late 1970s brought about great change. Revisions in laws and regulations opened the doors for new opportunities. In this lesson, you'll explore the events connected with these changes. You'll also examine how shipping rates are set and used, and finish up by looking at public warehouses and evaluating the pros and cons of outsourcing warehousing activities.

In this lesson, you'll focus on the managerial pieces of logistics. You'll start with planning, because just about everything you do should begin with a plan. Then you'll move on to the counterpart of planning: control. You'll consider the purpose of organization and then learn about motivation and leadership. You'll also learn how to effectively delegate so that your requests are completed on time and with the desired performance.

Selecting the right location for distribution facilities is one of the most critical decisions logistics professionals make. It involves huge expenditures of money that you make in a context filled with volatile events. In this lesson, you'll learn about the benefits of forecasting, long-range planning, capacity planning, and facility selection. The lesson will cover the factors you need to consider for a general and specific location and how to evaluate them. You'll also discover how distribution resource planning (DRP) can effectively synchronize demand and supply.

Logistics personnel have frequent opportunities to work on projects, ranging from improving ongoing operations to opening a new distribution center. This lesson will discuss the need for project management. It will differentiate projects from programs and tasks, explore the temporary and unique aspects of projects, and look at how critical scope definition is to a project's success. Finally, you'll examine the phases of the project life cycle and critique elements of project management that will help you position your project for success.

Joseph Juran, noted quality expert, said, "If you don't measure it, you don't manage it." The flip side is, if you do measure it, you manage it, and that means you can improve it. So in the final lesson, you'll examine performance measurements—a way to keep track of progress. You'll start off by looking at human nature and performance measurements. Then you'll consider what makes a performance measurement effective. The lesson will finish up by discussing traditional and progressive measurements of performance.

Instructors & Support

Tony Swaim

Tony Swaim has helped many clients, colleagues, and students reach their professional and personal goals. He has been an online instructor since 1998 and has taught at colleges and universities across the United States since 1981. His focus areas are project management, Six Sigma, and supply chain management. Tony manages a successful consulting firm, and his industry experience includes 20 years of supply chain management. He earned a Doctorate in Business Administration from Kennesaw State University and holds professional certifications in six disciplines, including the Project Management Professional (PMP)® certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI)® and Certified Six Sigma Black Belt (CSSBB)® from the American Society for Quality (ASQ)®.

Instructor Interaction: The instructor looks forward to interacting with learners in the online moderated discussion area to share their expertise and answer any questions you may have on the course content.

Requirements

Prerequisites:

There are no prerequisites to take this course.

Requirements:

Hardware Requirements:

This course can be taken on either a PC, Mac, or Chromebook.

Software Requirements:

PC: Windows 8 or later.
Mac: macOS 10.6 or later.
Browser: The latest version of Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox are preferred. Microsoft Edge and Safari are also compatible.
Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Software must be installed and fully operational before the course begins.

Other:

Email capabilities and access to a personal email account.

Instructional Material Requirements:

The instructional materials required for this course are included in enrollment and will be available online.

FAQ

Instructor-Moderated: A new session of each course begins each month. Please refer to the session start dates for scheduling.

Self-Guided: Your course begins immediately after you enroll.

Instructor-Moderated: Once a course session starts, two lessons will be released each week for the 6 week duration of your course. You will have access to all previously released lessons until the course ends. You will interact with the instructor through the online discussion area. There are no live sessions or online meetings with the instructor.

Self-Guided: You have 3 months of access to the course. After enrolling, you can learn and complete the course at your own pace, within the allotted access period. You will have the opportunity to interact with other students in the online discussion area.

Instructor-Moderated: The interactive discussion area for each lesson automatically closes two weeks after each lesson is released, so you're encouraged to complete each lesson within two weeks of its release. However, you will have access to all lessons from the time they are released until the course ends.

Self-Guided: There is no time limit to complete each lesson, other than completing all lessons within the allotted access period. Discussion areas for each lesson are open for the entire duration of the course.

Instructor-Moderated: Students enrolled in a six-week online class benefit from a one-time, 10-day extension for each course. No further extensions can be provided beyond these 10 days.

Self-Guided: Because this course is self-guided, no extensions will be granted after the start of your enrollment.

Reviews

I am very glad that courses like this are available to help those of us that have been in this field many years, catch up with the latest trends and refresh our knowledge of the basics.

I completed this class just in time to receive the assignment to write a paper on our logistics operation. I am an inventory management specialist. Thanks to you, I am so ready to write this paper as well taking a greater role in the Logistics and not just inventory.

I enjoyed this course very much. It was informative and helpful. I will recommend it to others without hesitation. Thanks!

I learned a lot from this course and plan to take the supply chain courses next.

It was a great and useful experience for me. I learned a lot. The course was well written and fully accessible for me. The instructor is an expert with practical knowledge displayed through the course. Also the fees related to the course are to my knowlege unbeatable!!! I am eager to enroll for another course.

I work in a small warehouse that is controlled by the customer. The customer buys and ships to my facility. I stock, label and maintain a database and issue at the request of the customer very seldom do I make purchases. This course will help me with my setting up my warehouse and keeping records. I will continue to read the information in my work book and plan to take more courses. Thank you for all of the great information.

Overall, the course is excellent. I have worked in logistics for eight years, and this course has given me a greater understanding.

Some of the areas covered were much tougher than I expected. I have been in Logistics for many years and have not ever been involved with some areas covered. Thanks for the very enlightening course.

Thank you for an interesting course. It helped me a lot on some subjects that I was not really familiar with. It was very informative. Again thanks for a great course.

Great and interesting course. This is the right course for me to enhance my career. A good and expert instructor. Thank you for a job well done.